567873 Mon Oct 27 14:28:53 -0700 2008 7 12 Boston Area 0 4132617 Traveling solo and want to walk somewhere "truly Boston" near the Boston Harbor Hotel (70 Rowes Wharf). I am indifferent to formality of restaurant. Is it the best chowder, pizza, or falafel? You tell me. Thanks in advance. Mon Oct 27 14:28:53 -0700 2008 210765 alankp 1 4132703 It's a little touristy, but I'd still recommend the Union Oyster House, especially for a solo diner. Be sure to sit at the bar (the only area where the oysters are shucked fresh), and keep it simple (raw bar, chowder, beer), and you'll have local color and tasty chow aplenty. For something a little less specifically Bostonian, but nonetheless something you couldn't get in Dallas, check out the North End, Boston's Little Italy neighborhood. I'd enthusiastically recommend Prezza, a bustling Northern Italian with a great bar and delicious food. After dinner, hit Caffe Vittoria for old world espresso and cannoli. Mon Oct 27 15:04:13 -0700 2008 4132617 11344 finlero 2 4133717 How do you know he's from Dallas? If you want to keep it simple, eating at the bar at Meritage in your hotel is a good bet. Wandering around the north end is definitely easy and essential. You could get pizza at the bar of Regina if you want to keep it simple. Having a drink at Foley's on Kingston St. downtown is pretty divey Boston or a drink at the Last Hurrah in the Omni Parker House for upscale Boston. Tue Oct 28 04:42:20 -0700 2008 4132703 14253 Joanie 3 4133930 > How do you know he's from Dallas? I thought all visitors to Boston were from Dallas. Is this not true? Actually, I looked at the OP's previous posts; I often give different recs for someone visiting from, say, New York or San Francisco than I would for someone from Texas or the Southwest. Good call on the Omni Parker House. If you go, you might also grab a slice of Boston cream pie; it was invented there. Tue Oct 28 07:06:25 -0700 2008 4133717 11344 finlero 1 4132848 Sultan's Kitchen is a great little Turkish restaurant. http://www.sultans-kitchen.com/ Mon Oct 27 15:52:28 -0700 2008 4132617 229023 robertlf 1 4133220 You're kind of in walking distance of No Name (hidden away in the fish piers on Northern Ave) and Barking Crab - although posters have given mixed reviews of both! The atmosphere in either will definitely have a unique Boston vibe! Legal Seafood's test kitchen is just a bit further down Northern as well, and I think it's the only restaurant of its type in the country... although I haven't been there myself ;) Mon Oct 27 19:07:11 -0700 2008 4132617 19650 erinire 1 4134098 Why does a request for "truly Boston" restaurants have to result in recommendations for a lot of bad restaurants? Isn't Regina's, for some of Boston's best pizza, "truly Boston"? Or how about Neptune Oyster Bar, an easy walk for the OP to one of Boston's most historic neighborhoods, for some of Boston's best seafood, as opposed to the "truly Boston" medocrity served at Union Oyster House, Barking Crab, No Name, and Legal's? Seems to me the OP can have his cake and eat it too! Tue Oct 28 08:13:28 -0700 2008 4132617 10820 Blumie 2 4134227 SO true. I didn't even think of Neptune! I just have an image of "true boston" being inside some weird old wooden fishing ship or something... either that or scarfing hot dogs at Fenway. :) Tue Oct 28 08:57:30 -0700 2008 4134098 19650 erinire